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Definitions
"The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; second, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others." - John Locke
Definitions are exactly what they sound like. Definitions are written by the researcher in order to better explain their problem statement to the general public, which would not have the same background or experience as the researcher does. Terms or words in the problem statement that may be unclear or that need further explanation will be clarified in the definitions. Through definitions, a researcher can gain a better understanding of the scope and idea behind their problem statement. In addition, it will help readers of the proposal to better understand the problem statement.
Things to keep in mind when creating definitions:
- define words or phrases in relation to your problem or your research project
- do NOT define terms using a dictionary (often, dictionary or textbook definitions are not specific enough to be applied to the research problem)
- you will need to define unclear terms in both the Problem Statement and all the subproblems; take into consideration anything that may be unclear to the general public
- when writing definitions do not define a term using a word that is in the term itself!
Steps in Creating Definitions
1. Take the Problem Statement and Subproblems you created and isolate the terms that need to be defined. It might help to highlight or somehow mark these words or phrases on paper.
2. Write a definition for each term you have marked in your problems.
3. Submit the subproblems to be edited by your peers and your teacher. After peer editing, edit your subproblems.
4. If necessary (as deemed by your peers or teacher), you may need to define more terms in addition to the ones you already have. In that case, it is suggested that you submit those new definitions for more review.
5. Now you have your Definitions. They will help you in guiding your research and will also help others to better understand your project. Now, you can start formulating your Hypotheses.
Example
This is my problem statement. One term of the problem that I thought needed defining is italicized below:
"How has the popularity of Japanese animation in the U.S. from 1999-2000 affected the content of pre-teen cartoons (aimed at children aged 10-14) produced in 2000-01 in the U.S.?"
This is an example of a definition I made for the term, "affect." Note the way I related the definition to my problem statement:
"affect: for one object to have influence upon another, which results in changes in the second object; in this case, changes would involve programming content, ideas, theme, and possibly drawing or visual aspects"
This page is created and maintained by Jennifer Tam. Copyright 2001.